Introducing The Blancpain Tribute To Fifty Fathoms No Rad

Blancpain is following up on their Mil-Spec Fifty Fathoms collaboration with Hodinkee with a new limited edition of their own, the Tribute to Fifty Fathoms No Rad. The true OG of the dive watch genre has been stretched in many sizes and variations, over the years (for better or worse), with the rare LE coming along from time to time that taps into the formula that works. The Mil-Spec LE was one such example, and the Tribute FF No Rads leans in the same direction, with a few important distinctions.

There are three components of the Mil-Spec LE that really drew the attention of collectors and enthusiasts, outside of the affiliation with Hodinkee. Those were: the use of a smaller 40.3mm case; the removal of the date; and the brushed lugs. It’s everything we’d love to see in a regular production Fifty Fathoms, but sadly, can’t get. The new Tribute to Fifty Fathoms No Rad again uses the smaller steel case that measures 40.3mm in diameter, however this example opts for the date window at 3 o’clock and a fully polished case, bringing the watch more inline with the standard Fifty Fathoms offerings from Blancpain. 

A few other details of the No Rads offer a substantial departure from previous LEs and tribute watches (such as the Mil-Spec Tribute from 2017). The bezel is fully indexed, and the colors used for the lume both in the indices and numerals are a smokey light brown, getting the full pre-aged treatment, and cutting a sharp contrast with the white border around the date aperture and the white base of the date disc itself.

There’s also the large No Radiation symbol occupying much of the bottom half of the dial. This is a callback to references that transitioned away from luminescent material free of radiation, and received the universal sign for having done so at 6 o’clock. It’s an odd but endearing feature that’s appeared on a variety of tribute watches over the years from Blancpain, and brings a sense of character from the era to life. If it looks familiar, you may remember Squale recently released LEs that made use of original NOS Blancpain cases, one of which features a no radiation (No Radiobino) dial. 

Inside Blancpain is using their automatic caliber 1151 visible through an open caseback, offering an impressive 100 hours of reserve and some handsomely decorated plates and bridges to boot. Blancpain is limited production of the Tribute to Fifty Fathoms No Rad to just 500 examples, each priced at $14,100. Blancpain.